I’ve been in your shoes…
Working. Studying. Living life, all in another language. Managing teams using Urdu and French, attending meetings in Japanese, making a client pitch in elementary Arabic. Negotiating contracts in Italian, liaising with suppliers in German and Spanish, and running high level events multilingually. Writing assignments, making speeches and completing an internship, all in Japanese. Fun? Yes! And yet…so many pitfalls, so many ways to ‘get it wrong’, so many ways to be misunderstood. And above all, how to express one’s authentic self in a tongue not learned from birth?
I work with women whose current English level in no way reflects the truth of who they are…YET. High achieving, focused, conscious and open to limitless possibilities, their English studies helped pass exams and secure jobs, but not express their Authentic Selves or truly connect from their hearts to the world around them.
My life journey has taken me across the world, through many roles. But always with one calling: human connection through the power of language. I’ve been a TV subtitle and dubbing coordinator, interpreter for a major airline, governess, international etiquette coach, corporate trainer, event organiser, English teacher to the Venetian gondoliers and private secretary to a national treasure with the Dalai Lama, the Vatican and the British royal family on speed-dial. It’s been my privilege to work with numerous high profile, high achieving individuals, as well as countless students at the University of Cambridge, and I’ve learned from them all.
In each of these roles, choosing the appropriate language to establish fast, solid and smooth connections was vital. Empathy, curiosity, creativity, cultural awareness and intuitive courtesy became my inner guides, along with a deep sensitivity for the power of words. And communication for human connection revealed itself as my superpower.
Everything I teach, I’ve lived. Together we identify cultural, linguistic and emotional obstacles, using these to create a map to access and honour your unique voice and talents. My coaching approach is informed by my deep awareness of linguistic nuance, deep appreciation for the role of culture in making sense of the world around us and deep commitment to the principles of spiritual psychology to remove communicative obstacles.
Let me share with you how to use the right words, in the right way, to express the highest version of YOU. Authentically. Assuredly. In English, with Elegance